DOJ Report Alleges Biased FACE Act Enforcement Targeting Pro-Life Activists

The Justice Department on Tuesday released a nearly 900-page report accusing the Biden administration of systematically targeting anti-abortion activists through selective enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act while working closely with abortion-rights organizations to identify and monitor them. The document compiled by the Trump administration's Weaponization Working Group follows a review of more than 700,000 internal records and paints a picture of a two-tiered justice system that disproportionately punished pro-life defendants with longer prison terms than those on the other side of the abortion debate.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that the findings exposed clear political motivation under the previous administration. "This department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice," Blanche said. "No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system."

The FACE Act was passed in 1994 to prevent violence and obstruction at reproductive health clinics, pregnancy resource centers, and places of worship. Under President Biden, however, the law was used aggressively against individuals who blocked access to abortion facilities, often through sit-ins that involved prayer, singing, and passive resistance. The report alleges that after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland quickly created a national task force to pursue these cases. That task force, led by civil division trial attorney Sanjay Patel, developed a close working relationship with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Feminist Majority Foundation, and the National Abortion Federation Security Team.

Internal emails cited in the report show abortion-rights groups supplying the Justice Department with dossiers containing personal information, photographs, and details about pro-life activists, including some who had not yet been charged with any federal crime. One email refers to an abortion activist as an "MVP" for flagging protests that could lead to prosecutions. Prosecutors allegedly used this information to monitor activists for years, track their travel plans, and initiate investigations that resulted in arrests by the FBI. Several of those charged received multi-year federal prison sentences before President Trump pardoned them during his first week back in office.

The review claims prosecutors sought harsher sentences for pro-life defendants, coordinated with outside advocacy groups on strategy, withheld evidence in some proceedings, and attempted to exclude potential jurors based on their religious beliefs. These practices stood in contrast to the handling of cases involving damage or obstruction by individuals opposing pro-life centers, according to the report. The disparities in enforcement and sentencing form a central part of the allegation that the Biden Justice Department treated belief-driven activism as a greater threat when it opposed abortion access.

This marks the first public release from the Weaponization Working Group, which was established to examine whether federal law enforcement has been deployed in politically motivated ways. Future reports are expected to address the January 6 prosecutions and other contentious investigations. The group's work reflects the current administration's determination to revisit decisions made during the Biden years, particularly those that followed the Dobbs ruling and the subsequent rise in protests at clinics nationwide.

Defenders of the Biden-era approach have pointed to an increase in attempts to physically block patients from entering reproductive health facilities after Roe fell. The FACE Act was always intended to ensure unimpeded access to constitutionally protected medical care, and the uptick in enforcement came as clinic staff and patients reported more frequent disruptions. Yet the new report insists that coordination between the Justice Department and abortion advocacy organizations crossed into improper collaboration that shaped investigative priorities and charging decisions.

The nearly 900 pages include case files, prosecutorial memos, and email chains that document how information flowed from abortion-rights groups directly into federal law enforcement channels. In some instances, the National Abortion Federation provided detailed profiles that included activists' license plate numbers and routines. Those profiles were later used to support arrest warrants and indictments. The report argues this created a feedback loop in which private political actors helped set the government's agenda against one side of a deeply divisive cultural conflict.

Legal experts following the issue note that the FACE Act has always been a narrow statute focused on protecting physical access rather than regulating speech. Previous administrations of both parties have used it, but enforcement data has long shown far more cases brought against anti-abortion protesters than against those targeting pregnancy resource centers. The Trump administration's review frames that imbalance as evidence of ideological capture rather than a reflection of where the violations were occurring.

The timing of the report's release, just months into the new administration, suggests it will be used to justify broader reviews of Biden-era law enforcement priorities. Blanche's statement emphasized restoring impartiality, but the document itself focuses almost exclusively on cases involving pro-life defendants. Whether the findings lead to any policy changes or further pardons remains to be seen. What is clear is that the battle over how federal prosecutors handle abortion-related protests is far from over and will likely remain a flashpoint as both sides continue to test the boundaries of protected speech and physical access to medical care.